California: Are happy hour drink specials legal?
California has no state rule limiting happy hour drink prices, though licensees generally may not give drinks away.
No California statute or ABC rule found limits the hours or size of drink discounts at bars and restaurants. ABC Rule 106 generally bars licensees from giving alcoholic drinks away, but it allows an on-sale licensee to give a patron an incidental drink. A separate law (Business and Professions Code 25600) bars giving free goods with alcohol sales, so buy-one-get-one-free drinks may count as illegal free goods. City or county rules can add their own limits.
What the law says
No licensee, in connection with a licensed business, shall give any alcoholic beverage to any person to whom the licensee is authorized to sell except as provided by in Rule 52 and Section 23386 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act. ... It is not the intent or purpose of this Rule to prohibit an on-sale licensee or any employee of such licensee from giving an incidental drink to a patron.
Sources
- Cal. Code Regs. tit. 4, § 106 Mirror of official text · law.cornell.edu
- California ABC Enforcement FAQs Official · abc.ca.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
- Phone
- (916) 419-2500
- Website
- abc.ca.gov
How bordering states compare
- Arizona Allowed with limitsArizona allows happy hours but bans unlimited drinks for a fixed price, drinking contests, and oversized servings.
- Nevada AllowedNevada has no state law limiting happy hour drink prices at bars and restaurants.
- Oregon Allowed with limitsOregon allows happy hours but bans drink discounts from midnight to 2:30 a.m. and unlimited drinks for a fixed price.
All 50 states for this question · Other topics in California